A vacation in Turkey took a bizarre and tragic turn when a sudden illness led to a UK mother's death and an autopsy revealed that her heart had been removed without any explanation or consent.
Beth Martin, a 28-year-old mother of two, fell severely ill shortly after arriving in Turkey on April 27, with her husband Luke and their children, ages 8 and 5. Within days, she was in intensive care, unresponsive, and separated from her family amid language barriers and confusion, according to an account of the nightmare experience on GoFundMe.
Beth and Luke's mothers both flew out to help with the children and to see Beth, but they were denied access amid extremely limited communication. When they finally were able to see Beth, she was unresponsive and on life support.
The family received a call the evening of April 29 informing them of Beth's death. Luke had to fight to see her for a brief minute in the morgue.
As the family worked through an avalanche of grief and financial strain, including paying thousands out of pocket to repatriate Beth's body, they were dealt another devastating blow: once back in the UK, a post-mortem examination revealed Beth's heart was missing. "No explanation. No consent," the family said.
Now, Beth's death is under investigation as a potential case of medical negligence. Her family is speaking out, urging people to help cover the mounting costs and to share their harrowing story. "With excruciating detail, we are exposing our pain," the GoFundMe reads. "And asking for help [to] hopefully bring ALL OF HER home."
The GoFundMe has exceeded their goal of £250K, and the family has stated the extra money will be donated to charity.
